The present disclosure relates generally to systems for and methods of attenuating radiation. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systems for and methods of attenuating radiation during a radiological examination of a patient.
Radiation barriers or shields are used to attenuate (e.g., deflect, absorb, etc.) the flux of electromagnetic radiation originating from a radiation source and directed towards a patient. Radiation can have beneficial and/or negative effects. One beneficial effect of radiation relates to radiological examinations. For purposes of this disclosure, the phrase radiological examination refers generally to any procedure wherein radiation is applied to a patient for the purpose of producing an image or representation of the patient. Radiological examinations may provide a non-invasive means capable of obtaining an image of the internal composition of the patient. Radiological examinations may be employed in a variety of applications including, but not limited to, medical procedures.
During a radiological examination, medical personnel (e.g., technicians, assistants, nurses, physicians, surgeons, etc.) are often positioned near the patient undergoing the procedure. Medical personnel positioned near the patient during the procedure are susceptible to both primary beam radiation and scatter radiation. Scatter radiation is a secondary radiation generated when the primary radiation interacts with the object being impinged. Scatter radiation typically has a frequency range lower than the primary radiation beam and generally moves in a variety of uncontrollable (e.g., random, pseudo-random, etc.) directions. Scatter radiation, like primary radiation, can cause damage to living tissue.
During a radiographic imaging procedure, the primary radiation beam is likely to scatter after impinging the patient mass. Conventional radiation attenuating safeguards, such as table drapes or standard patient shields used during conventional radiographic imaging procedures, may not provide the medical personnel with a desired level of protection from the scatter radiation. Thus, there is a need for an improved radiation attenuation system for and method of shielding an object from primary beam radiation during radiographic imaging of the object. There is also a need for a radiation attenuation system that is configured to shield persons positioned near an object undergoing radiographic imaging from primary beam radiation. There is further a need for a radiation attenuation system that is configured to shield an object or persons positioned near the object undergoing radiographic imaging from scatter radiation.